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Monday, June 11, 2012

Rich Hill Has Strained Flexor

Just minutes after reporting that Andrew Bailey begin throwing, I was informed via a twitter update from Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that Red Sox lefty reliever Rich Hill will miss at least a month with a strained flexor in his throwing elbow.

Rich Hill of the Boston Red Sox was diagnosed with a strained flexor in his surgically repaired left elbow. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

A flexor-pronator strain can either result from an acute event or can develop as a result of overuse. A pitcher who has an acute flexor-pronator strain will remember a specific throw where he felt sharp pain on the medial side of the elbow. His pain will usually be located just past the bony prominence on the inside of the elbow. He often will have pain flexing the wrist or pronating the forearm.-- Excerpt from Dr. David Geier regarding strained flexor in pitchers.

Hill was placed on the disabled list Saturday after experiencing discomfort in the surgically repaired left elbow, which led to a visit with Dr. Andrews, who performed the operation and apparently diagnosed the strained flexor.

The loss of Hill in the Red Sox bullpen will cause some shuffling, possibly forcing Bobby Valentine to scratch the idea of stretching Franklin Morales out, instead using him as a situational reliever against leftys. Andrew Miller, another southpaw, will be available in the role, but whether the Sox manager will use him there remains to be seen.

At the time of the injury, Hill is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 2/3 IP (17 G), while being used often as the left handed specialist. Boston currently has just Morales and Miller as lefty's on the 40-man roster. Bobby may be forced to get creative (something he does quite well) in the absence of Hill from the rejuvenated bullpen.